Still, a filtering system on the wells will be installed.
The School District has sent a letter to parents of North Marion Middle School students to assure them that well water supplying the school has been tested by the state and is safe.
“But we will install a filtering system there.” The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Florida Department of Health (DOH) have been testing wells in parts of northwest Marion County, part of an effort to look for possible contamination from past activity in the area.
“Officials tested North Marion Middle School’s drinking water wells during these efforts, specifically looking for a set of chemical components including Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS),” says the letter, which was sent to parents on Monday.
“All samples showed levels of PFAS far below the Environmental Protection Agency Health Advisory Level (HAL) for drinking water, indicating no need for concern,” the letter states.
“We are committed to students’ health and safety, and as an extra layer of (caution), we will install filters on the school’s drinking water wells to remove any remaining presence of the chemical.
Several state, local, and federal agencies are involved in the design and approval of this additional safety measure.” The letter states that if parents have any other concerns they should contact the Florida Department of Health in Marion County at 629-0137.
The district is also planning to install a filtering system at Reddick-Collier Elementary School wells.
Joe Callahan can be reached at 867-4113 or at joe.callahan@starbanner.com.
Follow him on Twitter JoeOcalaNews

PORT VUE (KDKA) — The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County has issued a Precautionary Boil Water Advisory for Port Vue and McKeesport.
According to officials, a six-inch water main break near Romine Avenue caused a loss of positive water pressure, which is a “signal of the existence of conditions that could allow contamination to enter the distribution system.” Because of that, officials say there is an increased chance disease-causing organisms could be in the water.
The advisory is in effect for Port Vue Borough and the Upper 10th Ward, McKeesport.
Officials say if you live in those areas, you should boil your water before drinking it or use bottled water.
In addition to drinking, water should be boiled before making ice, washing dishes, brushing your teeth and cooking food.
The advisory is in effect until further notice.
Water buffaloes are also being brought in to the Port Vue Borough building and fire department on Romine Avenue.
For more information, visit the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County’s website here or call them at 724-755-5800.

DENMARK — The water is rotten in the city of Denmark.
Many have opted to stop drinking public water completely, looking to bottled water or a nearby spring instead.
When Moncrieft started, Wheeler said he thought not brushing with the water was “extreme.” “I used to tease her all the time,” he said, “then she was right, the whole time.” No confidence It’s unclear exactly what health effects HaloSan has when consumed in water over a long term.
“More often than not, it’s not a health issue,” Edwards said.
As Edwards has worked with Smith, Brown and other residents concerned about water quality, he eventually asked to test the drinking water wells directly, but the city denied his request.
In its responses to the two class-action suits, the city has broadly denied the claims that it is harming residents’ health and that it is overcharging residents for water.
One other option has been the water distributions organized by several groups, including Denmark Citizens for Safe Water.
Organizer Deanna Miller-Berry, who is also a plaintiff in one of the lawsuits, helped run a string of distributions Thursday.
“I don’t even have to call them, when they see it, and they hear about it, they’re coming,” she said.
Jones has lived in Denmark for three years, but she said she doesn’t want her daughter to get sick, and she’s frustrated that the city government continues to charge for a utility most people have lost faith in.

A consultant for Martha’s Vineyard Airport has filed the immediate response action plan with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection for contaminants found in drinking water at properties located south of the airport.
The plan calls for installing point-of-entry, carbon-filter systems to remove the contaminants from as many as 26 wells, including six that are considered an imminent hazard to the people living at the addresses.
Though no actual addresses are used in the report, Tetra Tech, the environmental consultant, has said the highest concentrations were in the vicinity of Edgartown–West Tisbury Road.
The report is nearly 2,000 pages, is posted on the state Energy & Environmental Affairs website, and is expected to be posted on the airport’s website.
“The reported concentrations of the five target PFAS compounds in private well water from six of the 100 private wells sampled were at concentrations that represent a potential [imminent hazard] to human health due to consumption of the water,” the report states.
The report details the timeline of the testing, which began last March with Ron Myrick, an engineer with Tetra Tech, pitching to airport officials to test for PFAS on airport property ahead of MassDEP setting its guidelines.
One point-of-entry system has already been installed, and has been effective in removing PFAS from the water.
Quarterly testing of the systems will be done.
The systems will be installed at the five remaining addresses where an imminent hazard has been identified.
In the interim, all of those addresses are being supplied bottled water.

Residents of Denmark, which is a small town on U.S. 321 about 90 miles north of Bluffton, say their water has been "poisoned" for a decade.
The state government was adding something called HaloSan to the town water for 10 years.
It’s a substance that has been used to clean hot tubs and take care of rust and was not approved by the EPA for safe drinking water.
Now, the people in this small town are left with a lot of questions, a class action lawsuit, and no safe drinking water.
"That shocked me that I could live so close and not have a clue," explained Rev.
Campbell Chapel teamed with First Zion Baptist and Bible Missionary Baptist Church in Bluffton and the town of Bluffton back in December to take bottled water donations.
Black himself helped hand deliver 500 cases of bottled water to this underprivileged, dry town.
The Bible speaks of just giving someone a drink of cold water in the name of our prophet," explains Rev.
Black.
Donations will be accepted through Thursday at Campbell Chapel AME Church at 35 Boundary street, First Zion Baptist church at 10 Robertson street and Bible Missionary Baptist church at 236 Buck Island road.

The environmental consultant tasked with evaluating the extent of PFAS contamination in private wells south of the Martha’s Vineyard Airport filed an action plan with the state over the weekend outlining short and long-term solutions to the contamination, including the installation of water filtration systems in affected homes.
The immediate response plan was filed by airport consultant Tetra Tech following the determination that 13 private wells out of 96 tested south of the airport since November contained elevated levels of PFAS.
PFAS can pose dangers to human health when ingested.
PFAS concentrations found in private wells in the initial phase of Tetra Tech’s investigation ranged widely, from none detected in the majority of the 96 private wells to more than 800 parts per trillion (ppt) in several, far exceeding safe limits of 70 parts per trillion as outlined in state Department of Environmental Protection guidelines.
The report identifies six of the 13 properties containing PFAS levels that could pose an immediate health hazard.
For a longer term solution, Tetra Tech will begin installing point of entry (POE) water treatment systems in up to 26 properties beginning in February.
Tetra Tech first tested the efficacy of the POE system in December on one private well with PFAS levels over 70 ppt and found that after two weeks, levels plummeted to 2 ppt, an overall reduction of more than 99.9 per cent.
The report also explains that no specific actions are currently planned for the mitigation of PFAS that’s infiltrated the soil and water where firefighting foam was released at the airport, citing the need for further evaluation.
In the meantime, the FAA-mandated foam tests will continue at the airport on a yearly basis with the foam being discharged into a containment tank on the property.
The entire initial site investigation is expected to be completed by November.

Cape Town – Humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers dispatched a truck to Beaufort West to deliver water after receiving a request from the municipality.
In a letter to the organisation, the municipality’s communication officer, Marlene Hendricks, said: “The Beaufort West Municipality will be running out of emergency bottled water within the next day.
"This is a direct result of the low reservoir levels in town over the past months that caused the municipality to distribute the emergency water that was donated by Gift of the Givers for Day Zero and emergency cases.
The storage room at the Karoo Recreational Hall is empty after a peak festive season.” According to the letter, the town had 40 boreholes and is now operating on 27.
The demand of water in terms of usage is high.
“We appeal to Gift of the Givers to assist the municipality with emergency bottled water for the storerooms.
“The reclamation plant is working in Beaufort West and there is water in the reservoirs in both towns.
Accordingly, there is no emergency at present as far as we are concerned,” he said.
Styan said the drought remained ongoing and long-term by nature and required an ongoing effort by all stakeholders to ensure communities did not run out of drinking water.
“The department will also be sending another delegation to the towns of Beaufort West and Oudtshoorn this week to further determine the needs on the ground,” Styan said.

Residents of Heritage Hills Mobile Home Park were without water Tuesday night after a fire in a utility building.
Firefighters responded about 6:20 p.m. to a report of flames in what Pulaski Township Fire Department Chief Guy Morse called a water treatment building.
Adding to firefighters concerns was the presence of a propane storage tank behind the building, and Morse remained on site after the fire was extinguished, awaiting the arrival of a truck that would pump out the tank.
In the meantime, residents of the mobile home park were without water, and Morse contacted Lawrence County Emergency Management, which was arranging for water buffaloes to be delivered to provide drinking water.
The park manager also was arranging for water to be delivered, Morse said.
The 911 call reporting the fire came from a passer-by, whom Morse credited with helping the department knock down the flames quickly.
"The building is still standing," he said, "because of the actions initiated by that person that enabled us to get a good start on it."
"Thanks to all of them," he said, "we had ample water on scene."
No injuries were reported.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.

PRINCE RUPERT — A boil water advisory for Prince Rupert, B.C., has entered its fifth week, prompting one citizen advocate group to criticize city officials for not having a preparedness plan in place.
"Five weeks is too long without any provision of access to water for people who are vulnerable," Kertes said in an interview.
Water in the city of Prince Rupert tested for high levels of cryptosporidium and giardia, parasites can cause intestinal illnesses, he said.
This represents the final phase of the city’s water infrastructure replacement project, it said.
"Unfortunately, there are no treatment options available to the city to remove cryptosporidium at the source supply, and therefore there is currently no way to prevent or manage the issue other than to wait for the water to clear itself," reads a post on the city’s website.
Kertes said there are a lot of questions on how the decisions surrounding the infrastructure upgrade were made and what the priorities were.
"We need the city government to listen and take responsibility and we need a preparedness plan."
As of Jan. 17, there were 25 short-term drinking water advisories in place in Canada, and six "boil water" and three "do not consume" advisories in British Columbia.
"It’s anyone’s guess" how long the advisory will be in effect, he said.
"This is a wake-up call that not everyone in Canada can take (tap water) for granted," Kertes said.

— A boil water advisory for Prince Rupert, B.C., has entered its fifth week, prompting one citizen advocate group to criticize city officials for not having a preparedness plan in place.
"Five weeks is too long without any provision of access to water for people who are vulnerable," Kertes said in an interview.
Water in the city of Prince Rupert tested for high levels of cryptosporidium and giardia, parasites can cause intestinal illnesses, he said.
This represents the final phase of the city’s water infrastructure replacement project, it said.
"Unfortunately, there are no treatment options available to the city to remove cryptosporidium at the source supply, and therefore there is currently no way to prevent or manage the issue other than to wait for the water to clear itself," reads a post on the city’s website.
Kertes said there are a lot of questions on how the decisions surrounding the infrastructure upgrade were made and what the priorities were.
"We need the city government to listen and take responsibility and we need a preparedness plan."
As of Jan. 17, there were 25 short-term drinking water advisories in place in Canada, and six "boil water" and three "do not consume" advisories in British Columbia.
"It’s anyone’s guess" how long the advisory will be in effect, he said.
"This is a wake-up call that not everyone in Canada can take (tap water) for granted," Kertes said.